Jump to content
Join the Unexplained Mysteries community today! It's free and setting up an account only takes a moment.
- Sign In or Create Account -

Surprise discovery of 2-million-year-old animal tracks in Tanzania


Still Waters

Recommended Posts

Ancient animal tracks dated almost two-million years old have been unearthed accidentally by Heriot-Watt University scientists from the Lyell Center in Edinburgh.

The fossils were discovered by Tessa Plint, a Ph.D. researcher specializing in palaeoecology, and Dr. Clayton Magill during geological field work at the world-renowned Olduvai Gorge in Northern Tanzania. Located in the East African Rift Valley, it is one of the most important palaeoanthropological sites on Earth having yielded early evidence of human ancestors.

It is not known what species were responsible for leaving the tracks but the scientists say they were formed by cloven-hoofed mammals, such as prehistoric antelope or gazelle. The fossils also reveal the animals left their hoof prints as they walked across a layer of freshly fallen ash resulting from a nearby volcanic eruption around 1.8 million years ago.

A total of three tracks have been found, each measuring approximately 7cm in length and offering a unique window into life in the Olduvai Gorge.

https://phys.org/news/2021-06-fossil-discovery-tanzania.html

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10420940.2021.1930540

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.